Old Hamptonians RFC v Haringey Rhinos RFC
London 4 North West – Week 11
Saturday 26th January 2008

Meeting early in preparation for the long trip across London to Old Hamptonians RFC, the Rhinos were
hungry for more league action after being cruelly denied by the weather the previous week. Two good
training sessions on the track meant fitness and skill levels were high, both of which would come to pay big
dividend by the end of the day.

With a touch of winter sun and little rain through the week, the opposition pitch was well suited to the mobile
Haringey forwards and express pace of their back line. The toss was lost and received the kick-off from the
start, a good take from the forwards and kick deep by fly half Alan Cooper setting the scene for the first
points of the afternoon.

Haringey’s lineout started well again with Patrick Hawkes claiming a high ball in testing conditions to set a
drive from 15 metres out, with replacement skipper Mat Brown crossing in the right hand corner. Cooper
slotted a difficult conversion and the men in green felt a valuable 2 league points within reach.

Audacity was to be used in the description of the second score for Haringey, prop Derick Cordy drawing the
defence and before dancing on the touchline threw an underhand pass infield to the ever present Simon
Olok to score under the sticks. Cooper again converted and the Rhinos were on a roll!

With the Rhinos’ recurring problems at the ruck continuing, OH clawed their way back into the game, turning
over valuable ball and piling pressure on the Haringey attack. After a penalty and an opportunistic score, by
the break the Rhinos were forced to confront their loss of direction, and importantly, their patience within the
opposition 22; simple errors having held them from scoring more throughout the first half.

Half-time:
Old Hamptonians 8 – Haringey Rhinos 17

Strong words were the order of the day at Coach Stefan Roos’s team talk, a lethargic Haringey being asked
some big questions to get themselves back into the driving seat for the second half and dominate their
opposite numbers.

With OH troubling the Rhinos lineout ball and at the ruck, possession was the key to the match, but with the
highest percentage being in the hosts favour, Haringey did well to restrict them to just two unanswered tries
and a penalty. At 25-17 down, the north London club were staring down the barrel of a loss to a lesser team
they should have taken out of the running by halftime.
The forwards finally got themselves into the tie - crunching play around the base of the ruck and maul
causing a number of blood bin stoppages for the opposition throughout the half, particularly after the OH
second row was caught nosing around a ball in Cameron Howson’s possession.

At the point where in the past the loyal travelling spectators have seen heads drop and games run away from the Rhinos, Roos emptied the subs bench and saw the Rhinos turn the tide; incisive back moves, strong
defense and link play combined with considered option taking enabling the flood gates to open - Matt Borich
grabbed a double, before DJ Daniels and replacement back row Paul Fletcher banged the final nail in the
league 4NW fixture.

The last play of the game saw OH claw back a try, but at the final whistle the Rhinos had bagged the crucial
points in a tough away fixture, and went about settling their supporters’ nerves in the clubhouse before the
trek home.

Full-time:
Old Hamptonians 30 – Harinegy Rhinos 38

The next three weeks sees both Haringey’s first and second teams in home league fixtures, with the
potential for three wins securing promotion hopes for both.